Vampire energy, the big property footprint & a look into Google’s world of typography

‘Vampire Energy’ Is Sucking the Life out of Our Planet – Wired

Here’s a water cooler moment none of us saw coming: appliances that are constantly left on can be accountable for as much as 40% of a building’s overall energy use. This article dives into what exactly vampire energy is, and the disastrous effect it’s having on our planet.

While we’re talking about vampire energy – this can be regulated using IoT! If you have appliances that have to remain on, the internet of things can be used to optimise consumption throughout specific periods in the day.

The property industry has a huge carbon footprint. Here’s how to reduce it – The Economist

On the topic of buildings being big energy users, this article shares that homes, offices and factories compose 27% of global (energy-related) carbon dioxide emissions. The solution is said to be divided into three key goal areas:

1. Incentivising owners to make existing properties more energy-efficient.
2. Facilitate more rational decisions about when to retrofit buildings and when to demolish them and rebuild them.
3. Ensure that the construction of new buildings that does take place is far cleaner than it has been in the past.

We already know that facilities management companies are adopting IoT to help optimise buildings, and this is something we expect to see more of going forwards into the future.

Google fonts knowledge – Google

This vast library of font/type guides from Google gives designers all the tools and information they need to make great UX/UI decisions when it comes to using fonts. Whether you’re choosing a font, pairing two together and trying to understand the compatibility of certain fonts, everything you need to know is right here in one convenient library.

This is a super useful tool and I recommend anyone involved in UI/UX checks this out today!

Climate change: Bonn talks end in acrimony over compensation – BBC

First was ‘climate change’, then the ‘climate crisis’. Now we have a climate emergency on our hands and yes, this is becoming a climate catastrophe. Understandably, poor countries that are feeling the brunt of the physical effects of climate change more than anyone, are in need of aid, support and action to help relieve loss and damage.

The EU has this week come under heavy criticism for its failure to fund under-developed countries that have made it their priority to cut carbon emissions.

Climate change needs to be a collaboration between nations. To this tune, during London Climate Action Week in June, we will be attending Reset Connect with the goal of finding other businesses to collaborate with to monitor assets, optimise buildings and ultimately reduce carbon footprint.

Design for Planet festival is back for 2022

Finally, a fantastic design event that supports sustainable practice within the design sector. This two-day event showcased those leading the way in sustainability and climate action, with hundreds of experts!

You can catch up on all the amazing talks and presentations here.

That wraps up our Friday 5 for this week but as always if you’ve seen something we’ve missed then please get in touch on here or on our social channels.